Late-Night Trouble in Paradise

By Richard R. Ramponi

Jan. 26, 2017

Dear Diary:

I attended Fordham University in the early 1980s and would often venture from the Bronx into Manhattan on the trusty D train.

Once, returning to campus late — probably after a night spent exploring the Village — I was waiting for the train at West Fourth Street. The platform was mostly deserted, and in those days, the subway at night was pretty scary to me.

I noticed an older couple nearby. The woman appeared to be holding a pile of religious tracts that she had been distributing on the platform. She slumped down on a bench next to a man who I figured was her husband.

They immediately began a loud argument. I don’t remember what it was about, but it went on for a while, and the platform was filled with the sound of dueling accusations.

I was standing next to an older man. He turned to me, our eyes met, and he said in a low voice, “Looks like there’s some trouble in paradise.”